Mini SiPM Driver (SiD) Board — Revision 4.x

This is the affiliate page for the Mini SiPM Driver (SiD) project.

You can easily order the PCB directly through PCBWay using this page — it helps support the project a little, and doesn’t cost you anything extra. All design files are fully open-source and available on GitHub.

About the Project

The Mini SiPM Driver (SiD) is a compact, minimalistic board that allows you to easily integrate a silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) into your own radiation detection or photon-counting projects.

It’s based on the same design principles as the Open Gamma Detector, but focused on providing a simple, low-voltage signal conditioning and amplification stage for SiPMs — perfect for building your own scintillation counter, coincidence detector, or custom experiment setup.

Unlike traditional photomultiplier tubes, the SiPM requires no high-voltage supply, making it safer and much easier to use. Despite its simplicity, the Mini SiD offers excellent signal quality, fast recovery times, and flexible outputs for both digital counting and analog signal analysis.

The board and all related files are certified open source hardware under OSHWA ID AT000007.

Key Features

• Compact 100 × 25 mm PCB (half reserved for mounting a small scintillator)
• Input voltage: 3.1 – 5.5 V
• Low power consumption (<4 mA @ 5 V)
• Adjustable SiPM bias (27.5 – 33.8 V) and gain control
• TTL (digital) pulse output for counting or timing applications
• Raw analog pulse output for spectroscopy or signal shaping
• Only requires a microcontroller (e.g. Arduino or Raspberry Pi) for operation
• All components are hand-solderable (0603 or larger)

Open Source

All hardware design files, schematics, Gerbers, and 3D models are freely available on GitHub: https://github.com/OpenGammaProject/Mini-SiD

You can find detailed documentation, photos, and example results there, along with links to project logs and community builds on Hackaday.io.

Ordering your PCB through PCBWay helps support continued development of open-source radiation detection hardware.